BENGALURU: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu urged doctors and medical practitioners to encourage communities to go back to the age-old lifestyle in order to stay healthy. “A dual-disease burden, with communicable diseases continuing to rise and a spurt in non-communicable or lifestyle diseases and to address these concerns it is essential to change lifestyle. The changes we have brought in our lifestyle have invited a lot of diseases,” he said.
Along with focusing on preventive medicine, working with communities for the same should also be considered important, he advised the outgoing students at the 20th Annual Convocation of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) held in the city on Thursday.
Bats for mother tongue
During the Convocation Address which he began in Kannada, Mr Naidu emphasised on the importance of nurturing the ability to communicate in the local language. “Even though I am not against English, I would like to see a day when all courses are taught in their respective Indian regional languages. Being an expert in one’s local language and then learning English is good as learning more languages is always good,” he said.
Mother tongue is like our eyes, while other language acts as spectacles. At the same time, we should also feel proud of other languages that co-exist in our country as we are one nation, he added.
‘Staying updated essential’
Reminding the graduates of staying updated in their profession, he said that the workforce should suffice the growing demand for healthcare services in the country.
With the range of health issues addressed in India being the broadest, the experiences from serving the communities here would broaden one’s profession skill in this realm. “Therefore, consider each patient as you guru and treat them with empathy, compassion and a caring attitude. Remember, Google can never replace Guru,” he alluded.
Mr Naidu also presented gold medals and cash prizes to 79 toppers from various undergraduate and postgraduate courses, out of which 63 were women. Sharing his delight on the same he said that the need for giving equal opportunity to girls is also essential, citing the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme among others.
Congratulating the graduates, Vice-Chancellor Dr M.K. Ramesh said, “Please remember that knowledge and skills are subservient to the humane touch for any healthcare professional.”
The ceremony was presided over by state governor Vajubhai Vala, who is also the Chancellor of the varsity.
